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SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost? [+Free Calculator]

Last updated: August 6, 2025
The average spends $2,500 per month, $51 per hour, and $1,000 per project, according to our survey data. Lots of factors can influence the cost of SEO for your business, including your industry, business size, chosen agency or freelancer, the types of SEO you want to invest in, and more.
methodology:
  • We surveyed 250 U.S-based marketing and sales professionals to find out how much their companies spend on SEO.

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Summary

  • SEO costs an average of $2,500 per month, $51 per hour, and $1,000 per project
  • The typical return on investment (ROI) for SEO is 748% ($7.48 for every $1 spent)
  • Start ups and small businesses typically spend $100 to $2,500 per month on SEO, while enterprises spend $5,000 or more
  • The most important SEO cost factors are business size, industry, agency or freelancer experience, and the scope of your SEO strategy

SEO Cost Calculator

Get an accurate estimate of SEO costs for your business with our free SEO calculator below! Then, contact our team to learn more about how we can help you turn search into a revenue driver for your company!

SEO Calculator

How much does SEO cost?

The basics of SEO costs

Curious about the cost of SEO? We’ve got you covered! We surveyed 250 businesses to find out how much they spend on SEO! Keep reading to discover what they shared and the average costs you can expect!

How much does SEO cost?

According to our data, the average business spends $2,500 per month on SEO, $51 per hour, and $1,000 per project

Graphic showing how much businesses spend on SEO per month

It’s important to note, though, that these numbers are averages. A lot of factors can influence how much you’ll spend, including the size of your business, your industry, whether you hire an agency, and more.

Source Data

Monthly SEO costs

Cost Per Month % of Businesses
Less than $500 5.56%
$500 – $1,000 17.78%
$1,001 – $2,500 24.44%
$2,501 – $5,000 8.89%
$5,001 – $7,500 16.67%
$7,501 – $10,000 6.67%
$10,001 – $15,000 6.67%
$15,001 – $20,000 5.56%
$20,001 – $25,000 1.11%
$25,001 – $50,000 4.44%
More than $50,000 2.22%

Hourly SEO costs

Cost Per Hour % of Businesses
Less than $50 per hour 23.08%
$51-$75 per hour 36.54%
$76-$100 per hour 32.69%
$101-$150 per hour 7.69%
$151-$200 per hour 0.00%
More than $200 per hour 0.00%

SEO costs per project

Cost Per Project % of Businesses
Less than $100 0.00%
$100 – $500 5.71%
$501 – $1,000 24.29%
$1,001 – $2,500 22.86%
$2,501 – $5,000 22.86%
$5,001 – $7,500 10.00%
$7,501 – $10,000 2.86%
$10,001 – $15,000 2.86%
$15,001 – $20,000 1.43%
$20,001 – $30,000 2.86%
$30,001 – $50,000 1.43%
More than $50,000 2.86%

How much does SEO cost for my business size?

Like we mentioned above, SEO costs can vary depending on the size of your business. Larger businesses typically spend more on their SEO strategy to stay competitive and optimize larger websites. 

Get a glimpse into the cost of SEO based on business size in the table below!

Business Size SEO Cost (Monthly) % of Businesses
Startup / Micro-Enterprise 

(1-10 Employees)

$1 – $2,500 75%
Small Business

(11 – 50 Employees)

$500 – $1,000 31%
Mid-Sized Business

(51 – 250 Employees)

$1,001 – $2,500 21%
Large Business

(251 – 500 Employees)

$500 – $1,000 38%
Enterprise Business

(501+ Employees)

$2,501 – $5,000 21%

How much does SEO cost in my industry?

Another factor that can influence the cost of SEO is your industry. Some industries are more competitive than others and will require more SEO efforts to keep your business on top. 

We broke down typical SEO costs for different industries below! 

Industry SEO Cost (Monthly) % of Businesses
Accounting & Finance $2,501 – $5,000 22%
Aviation & Transportation $2,501 – $5,000 67%
Technology & Software $2,501 – $7,500 40%
Skilled Trades $2,501 – $5,000 50%
Engineering $1,001 – $2,500 67%
Construction $5,001 – $7,500 33%
Education $1,001 – $2,500 56%
Retail & Fashion $500 – $1,000 30%
Manufacturing $7,501 – $10,000 33%
Marketing & Sales $5,001 – $7,500 50%
Healthcare $2,501 – $5,000 25%

How much does DIY SEO cost vs. hiring an agency?

Hiring an agency or managing your SEO strategy in-house will also affect your costs. On average, hiring an agency costs the average business $2,500 per month, while DIY SEO costs can cost around $7,500 per month. 

For example, SEO tools can cost around $100 to $500 per month. And if you need to hire an SEO specialist to join your team, you’ll pay an average salary of $48,000 per year. You may also need to hire a copywriter to help you create custom content for your SEO strategy, as well, which will carry an average yearly salary of $40,000. 

An agency will offer a fixed rate or a performance-based fee and give you access to multiple SEO experts and specialists. Plus, some agencies, like WebFX, include copywriting and editing with your SEO package, helping you save tons of money and resources. 

Cost breakdown by SEO service type

How much do the different types of SEO cost? This is an important question to answer because the type of SEO you implement can impact your costs since some require different specialists and effort levels. 

Let’s take a look at a breakdown of pricing by SEO service type below! 

SEO Type Monthly Cost % of Businesses
Local SEO $100 – $1,500 56%
SEO Audits $501 – $750 22%
Voice Search Optimization $100 – $500 29%
On-Page SEO $50 – $300 33%
Off-Page SEO $751 – $2,500 38%
Technical SEO $100 – $500 32%

SEO budget allocation

If you’re opting to spend the average of $2,500 to $5,000 per month, the next question is — what comes with that? How is that budget allocated amongst SEO tasks?

Here’s a breakdown of SEO budget allocation and where the amount you spend typically goes (keeping in mind these are average numbers and not set in stone):

Pie chart showing the different types of SEO businesses invest in

What do typical SEO packages include?

Can include breakdown of what you get for basic (startup), enterprise SEO packages, etc. 

If you’re deciding whether to partner with an SEO agency to manage your strategy, you might be wondering what typical SEO packages include. 

We’ll break down average SEO packages below!

Basic SEO Packages Comprehensive SEO Packages Enterprise SEO Packages
Keyword research Advanced keyword research National or global focus for keyword research and targeting
On-page optimizations Competitor analysis Advanced technical SEO audits and optimizations
Basic technical SEO updates Technical SEO audits and optimizations Custom content strategies, writing, and editing
Content editing and optimization Content creation, editing, and optimization Advanced link building
Monthly strategy discussion Off-page SEO Press release management
Basic reporting Link building Sales funnel tracking
Advanced on-page optimizations Advanced on-page optimizations
Reporting and analytics Reporting and analytics
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) Ongoing and frequent strategy discussions
Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
Off-page SEO
Competitor analysis

Factors that influence SEO costs

Several factors determine SEO pricing, including:

  • Business size: The larger your business, the larger your SEO strategy and the scope of your needs, which means a higher SEO cost than smaller businesses.
  • SEO goals: Your SEO goals will also affect how much SEO costs for your company. If you want to reach local customers, you’ll pay less than a business that wants to reach customers on a national or international scale.
  • Agency experience and location: Typically, SEO agencies or freelancers with more experience will charge more for their services, while less experienced SEOs will offer lower rates.
  • SEO pricing model: There are several different SEO pricing models to choose from, and the one you pick will determine your costs. For example, you may pay hourly, monthly, or on a per-project basis.
  • Industry and competition: Some industries are more competitive than others and will require a more in-depth and hands-on SEO strategy to keep your business on top. 
  • SEO services (technical, local, etc.): The SEO services and strategies you want to invest in will affect your overall costs since they usually have different pricing.
  • Scale of SEO strategy: The scale and scope of your SEO strategy will also affect your costs. For example, if you want to optimize 5 pages on your website, you will pay less than a company that needs on-page optimization, link building, and content creation.

Understanding SEO pricing models

There are many different SEO pricing models, and the one you choose will impact your investment! 

Learn about them below!

What are the different SEO pricing models?

Bar chart that shows how businesses pay for SEO

When it comes to paying for SEO services, there are three main ways to do so: by project, by hour, and by month. How you pay for SEO can depend on a number of factors like your budget and the services you need.

  • Per month: Because SEO is an ongoing strategy, the majority of businesses (36%) opt to pay monthly for their SEO. Ongoing monthly SEO will include multiple projects, audits, and ongoing optimizations. Monthly costs are around $2,500 per month according to our research.
  • Per hour: If your business needs consulting expertise or opts to hire a freelancer, you’ll likely pay per hour. For example, an SEO consultant can charge an hourly rate for providing advice and expertise in a specific area of your strategy. Hourly rates are around $51 per hour on average.
  • Per project: If you need support with implementing a specific SEO task or project, then you can opt to pay your provider per project. This option is useful if you have the expertise and resources in-house to manage your SEO strategy. It usually costs around $1,000 per project on average.
  • Performance-based fee: A performance-based fee requires you to pay once your SEO strategy achieves an agreed-upon result or metric, like traffic or impressions driven. The chosen result or metric will decide your cost.

Which SEO pricing model is best?

There is no right answer when it comes to choosing an SEO pricing model. The best payment plan will depend on your business and its SEO needs. That’s why we’ve compiled each plan’s best use cases and some examples of how businesses use those plans:

Pricing Model Best For Example
Monthly Ongoing SEO

Small, midsized, and large companies

A business looking to grow its organic search visibility, traffic, and revenue
Hourly Smaller SEO projects

Small companies

A small business looking to investigate a drop in traffic following a redesign
Project-based One-time SEO projects

Small, midsized, and large companies

A business looking to improve its sitewide page speed
Performance-based One-time SEO projects

Small companies

A small business looking to improve a specific metric, like traffic or impressions

How much do SEO agencies charge vs. freelancers?

Learn how SEO costs change based on who you hire: an agency, a consultant, or a freelancer:

Service Provider SEO Cost (Hourly) SEO Cost (Monthly)
Agency $25 – $75 $2,501 – $5,000
Consultant $51 – $75 $500 – $1,000
Freelancer $51 – $75 $1,001 – $2,500

Evaluating the cost of SEO

We’re doing a deep dive into SEO costs, including whether the cost is worth it, the typical return you can expect to see from your investment, and more!

Why is SEO so expensive?

For many businesses, the cost of SEO can seem too expensive — which isn’t the case. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective digital marketing strategies, especially compared to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

The reason why SEO seems expensive is that:

  1. SEO takes time to work: Your pay-per-click ads can start driving revenue as soon as you launch them. That’s not the case with SEO. With SEO, you need to optimize your site for four to six months before seeing a return on investment (ROI).
  2. SEO takes multiple skills: From producing SEO content to optimizing page speed, SEO requires multiple skill sets to work — that’s why many businesses outsource SEO. Full-service agencies (like WebFX) fill these skill gaps so you don’t have to, which is why they have higher SEO rates.
  3. SEO takes experience: Search isn’t new. Companies of all sizes now invest in SEO. If your business wants to compete, you need a reputable SEO partner. Compare these providers (and their higher SEO costs) to other, less reputable SEOs, and SEO will seem expensive.

Look at the cost of SEO as an investment, and you’ll start seeing why SEO is cost-effective, like:

  1. SEO works 24/7: Pay-per-click ads stop working for you as soon as you stop paying. In comparison, search engine optimization drives continuous results, helping your business drive traffic, leads, and sales 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  2. SEO drives conversions: Search engines like Google use more than 200 ranking factors, including ones related to user experience, like page speed. Optimizing for these user-focused elements often leads to higher conversion rates because you reduce pain points in your conversion process.
  3. SEO targets the whole funnel: You can target top-, middle-, and bottom-of-the-funnel users with SEO. The advantage here is your business widens its reach, connecting with users throughout their journey and then nurturing them to conversion with SEO and other digital marketing strategies.

Expert insights from webfx logo

Trevin
Trevin VP of Marketing

“When you factor in how many people use search engines on a daily basis and the fact that there is no upper limit to how much traffic your website can earn, SEO makes sense as a marketing channel for businesses to prioritize. You’re not stuck paying per visit or impression with SEO.”

With organic search generating more than 40% of online revenue, SEO is a worthwhile investment.

Is SEO worth the cost?

Yes! SEO is definitely worth the cost! An SEO strategy helps you keep your business visible when users search for information or products and services related to your business. That means you keep your brand top of mind, improve your online visibility, and keep potential customers visiting your website and learning about your business. 

With an effective strategy, you’ll be able to generate high-quality leads, conversions, and sales for your company, driving a steady flow of revenue for the long run and contributing to bottom-line growth. Overall, SEO is crucial to growing your company and expanding into new areas and territories.

Why do SEO costs differ for different businesses?

There are many different cost factors that can influence how much SEO costs, which is why pricing and investments differ so much between businesses. 

Here are a few reasons why costs differ so much: 

  • Budgeting: Different companies will have different budgets for digital marketing and SEO, which can limit or boost how much they can spend on their SEO strategy. 
  • Goals: If a company wants to focus on driving more website traffic or improving impressions in search results and AI answers, they will usually spend more on their SEO strategy. 
  • Internal resources: Whether the business has a dedicated SEO team or partners with an agency or freelancer can also impact their spending. 
  • Industry: If the business operates in a competitive industry, they’ll usually budget more for SEO to help them stand out from competitors.

Overall, SEO costs can vary widely, and the amount you spend will depend on your unique company, including your needs, goals, and more.

What return on investment can I expect from SEO?

While returns from SEO can vary, high-quality campaigns can yield a 748% ROI, meaning you can earn $7.48 for every dollar you invest. 

The return you receive will depend on your SEO expertise, or the SEO expertise of your chosen agency, and the effectiveness of your strategy. 

It’s important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy and results usually aren’t seen overnight. It can take a few months to start seeing a return on your investment.

How long does it take to see results from SEO?

SEO can take around three to six months to start seeing results, and momentum builds over time. For some businesses, it can take a few months longer. SEO is a long-term, ongoing strategy, so it requires time and expertise to see a continuous return on investment from your efforts.

If you’re wondering what SEO services include that makes them take longer to show results than other marketing strategies, there are a few key reasons:

  • It takes time for Google to find, crawl, and index pages
  • It takes time to implement SEO best practices across your site
  • It can take extra time to optimize larger websites
  • SEO content requires writing, editing, publishing, and optimizing time

While SEO can take a little bit of time to start seeing the increased rankings and traffic, it’s one of the best digital marketing strategies out there for increasing revenue and your bottom line.

Once you have your strategy established, you’ll be able to consistently drive traffic, leads, and conversions for your business for the long haul.

Expert advice on researching SEO pricing

How to set an SEO budget

Create a realistic SEO budget for your business with these steps:

  1. Review your budget allocations: First, learn how your business allocates its marketing budget. How much is available for search engine optimization? Depending on what you find, you may need to get buy-in for a bigger piece of your company’s marketing spend.
  2. Outline your requirements: Think about your goals, preferring outsourcing level, and provider type to get started. You should also consider location since that affects SEO marketing pricing — do you want to outsource your SEO to a different country?
  3. Evaluate your SEO: Next, determine how much work your provider will need to do to start pushing toward your SEO goals. Does your site have a strong backlink profile or weak on-page SEO, for example? Use a free SEO tool like Screaming Frog to get started on this step.
  4. Determine your preferred budget: Use your research to build your desired budget. For example, if you want to partner with a U.S-based agency for hourly SEO, your business will likely need a monthly spend of $6000 (if requesting 40 hours of work per month).
  5. Make your pitch: If needed, prepare a pitch for your budget proposal. Your pitch should demonstrate SEO’s potential bottom-line benefits, like attracting more qualified leads or driving more online sales, plus the advantages of outsourcing your SEO.

How to choose an SEO payment plan

Choose the best SEO payment plan for your business with these steps:

  1. Determine your SEO needs: What does your company want to accomplish with SEO? For example, do you want to fix a specific issue, like improving your page speed? Or do you want to build and maintain an ongoing SEO strategy?
  2. Outline your timeline: Next, build your preferred timeline. Are you migrating your site to a new domain in the next 30 days and need an SEO’s feedback? Or are you looking to optimize your website over time?
  3. Check your SEO budget: Research how much your organization has budgeted for SEO and when those funds are available. For example, does your business release department funds annually, quarterly, or monthly? Your answer will influence your payment plan options for SEO services.
  4. Choose your plan: Based on your research, determine the best option for your business. For ongoing or long-term SEO projects, consider monthly SEO. In comparison, check out hourly or project-based SEO for short- or one-time SEO projects.

How to evaluate SEO prices

Evaluate a service provider’s SEO prices with these steps:

  1. Review the plan deliverables: First, learn what you’re paying for by reviewing the deliverables. If what you’re getting for the price you’re paying seems too good to be true, it probably is — and you’ll often see this with cheaper SEO plans.
  2. Ask questions: Meet with the agency, consultant, or freelancer to discuss their pricing. Does the provider charge overtime, for example, after a certain number of hours worked on the account? What other additional fees should your team know about?
  3. Read the contract: Next, read the contract. Most providers will share a contract once you enter discussions with them. You’ll want to check for a few things, like whether you’re receiving a short-term promotional price and whether the agency can change rates without notice.

How to request custom SEO pricing

Request custom SEO pricing for your business with these steps:

  1. Outline your requirements: Get the most accurate quote by listing your requirements, like whether you’re looking for full-service SEO or something more specific, like off-page SEO. You can even include anything you don’t want in your SEO plan.
  2. Research your options: Optimize your time by limiting your requests to your top picks. Read reviews and case studies to see if an agency, consultant, or freelancer is a good fit for your team. Then, contact them with your request and requirements.
  3. Meet your potential provider: Schedule some time with your potential SEO provider. They’ll use this time to ask you some follow-up questions to understand your business better so they can build an accurate quote for your team.

An Inside Look at WebFX SEO Pricing

SEO Services

Starting at $3,000/month

  • WebFX Expertise
    • 58 awards for our SEO services
    • 200+ industries with dedicated expertise
  • Highlights

    🤝 Completely custom SEO strategy
    📝 Includes on-page SEO with copywriting and implementation
    🎨 Supported by design and CRO teams
    📊 Advanced ROI reporting and content analytics

  • What Sets WebFX Apart

    With the manpower of a large firm, but the approach of a boutique SEO agency, the value of WebFX’s SEO services is unmatched.

    • Technology to measure ROI and drive decision-making
    • Strategies centered on business revenue, not just traffic and rankings
    • Proven results from thousands of clients
    • Dedicated specialty teams to support the project

 

Join the 1,450+ businesses trusting WebFX to drive revenue through organic search

Too many search engine optimization providers take a copy-and-paste approach to SEO. That’s not our style.

Get a Custom Quote

View WebFX’s SEO packages

You’ve explored SEO prices for different pricing plans, industries, and company sizes, but what about prices from an actual SEO service provider? Get a preview of what SEO costs — and what those costs include — by viewing WebFX’s SEO packages below:

FeaturesSilverGoldPlatinumDiamondEnterprise
Keyword Research & Optimization
Number of keyphrases optimized (Keyphrases with less than 1M results)Up to 150Up to 200Up to 250Up to 300Custom
Keyword research & selectionCustom
Pages OptimizedUp to 30Up to 40Up to 50Up to 60Custom
Keyword mapping to target pagesCustom
Title Tags & Meta descriptionsCustom
Header Tags Optimized (Ex. H1s)Custom
Keyword Research & Optimization
Technical SEO
Technical Website Analysis & Opportunity ReportCustom
Robots.txt optimizationCustom
Information architecture auditCustom
Canonicalization analysisCustom
Initial external link analysis and disavowCustom
Link redirect auditCustom
Internal linking restructuring & optimizationCustom
Setup of website sitemapCustom
Custom 404 error page setup and optimizationCustom
XML sitemap creation & submissionCustom
Schema Implementation (JSON-LD)Custom
Technical SEO
Content & Media
Image optimizationCustom
Duplicate content analysisCustom
Quarterly Earned Media Content Assets – Content, Linkbuilding, Consulting, or CRO Assets6 Content, Outreach, UX, or CRO Assets12 Content, Outreach, UX, or CRO Assets15 Content, Outreach, UX, or CRO Assets24 Content, Outreach, UX, or CRO AssetsCustom
Website conversion analysis implementationCustomCustomCustomCustomCustom
A/B Testing of SERP title & description to improve clickthroughCustom
Content & Media
Local SEO & Reviews
Google Business Profile optimization (if needed)Custom
Ability to check location data accuracy across 40+ local directoriesCustom
Notification of new reviews (major review platforms)Custom
Local SEO & Reviews
Tools & Project Management
Google Analytics setup w/ conversion trackingCustom
Google Data Studio Reporting Dashboard Setup8 dashboards8 dashboards10 dashboards10 dashboardsCustom
CalltrackerFX access
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Keyword rank checker access with weekly updates (if requested)Custom
Competitor intelligence login to view competitor dataCustom
LeadManagerFX access
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Online Project Management PlatformCustom
Tools & Project Management
Reporitng & Analysis
Analyze your leads to project the # of leads competitors receive on a monthly basisCustom
Predict your and your competitors’ market share on a monthly basisCustom
Initial visitor profile reportCustom
Google Analytics traffic analysisCustom
Ongoing quarterly keyword ranking reportingCustom
Ongoing monthly traffic, goal & CPL reportingCustom
Ongoing user experience reporting (bounce rate, device category, etc.)Custom
Ongoing quarterly competitor conquest reportsCustom
Reporitng & Analysis
Dedicated Internet MarketerCustom
450+ SMEs behind campaign driving resultsCustom
Initial campaign investment:(Two month duration)$7,750$12,750$15,750$18,750Get Quote
Progressive monthly optimization:(6 month commitment – Subsequent 4 months)$2,500$5,000$6,500$8,000Get Quote
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